Quote:
Originally Posted by BrokenNBeautiful
Back in around 2000, a therapist told me she suspected I had one of 2 things or both: BPD and Asperger's. She was not a doctor, but she talked about me having the characteristics, chiefly an inability to connect with others or appear empathetic, or "don't like people."
I looked up an article on Wikipedia last night and it talked about physical clumsiness, obsessions about things, certain ways of speaking, etc. Social isolation and socially bizarre behavior. (my own words) I don't know if I need a diagnosis to participate on this board, but I am considering possibly having my diagnosis changed from mental illness to "developmental disorder".
This contemplation was inspired last month when my eye doctor observed some visual/spatial problems I was having. Which had reminded me of what my old doctor years ago had told me, "You have an atrophied optic nerve, possibly caused by brain damage." Maybe my disability is physical/developmental, rather than mental. And my emotional issues are treatable and recover-able.
I hope I can still have my SSA/SSI benefits, though; they have either already taken Aspergers off the DSM or they want to. I need an income and my issues do interfere with having a job.
thanks,
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The_little_didgee
You don't need a diagnosis to post questions in this forum. I sometimes post in the BPD forum and I don't have that diagnosis. Anyway, I can relate to the social isolation many with BPD feel.
Note: Asperger's Syndrome has been renamed Autism Spectrum Disorder.
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Asperger's Syndrome has three main areas of impairment: social and emotional interaction, communication, and perspective taking and thought rigidity.
Social and emotional interaction refers to difficulties with initiating and maintaining friendships. Cooperation or working with others may be an issue for some. Note: Most people with Asperger's Syndrome want to have friends and relationships.
Communication refers to difficulties with processing and retaining information. It also includes difficulties understanding social use of language, jokes/sarcasm, literal mindedness, and the use and interpretation of body language (facial expression and gesture).
Perspective taking and thought rigidity refers to difficulties with empathy, generalization, and coping with change. Lack of empathy is misleading. People with Asperger's feel it, just like others do. The problem is with perspective taking or imagining what the other person is feeling, and then reciprocating.
Other common difficulties are hyper/hypo-sensitive senses (e.g. acute hearing, light sensitivity), anxiety, depression, aggression, psychosis, motor and attention difficulties.
Obsessive interests and repetitive behaviors are common.
Do you notice any of these characteristics in you?
Many ladies are diagnosed with BPD before they discover they have Asperger's Syndrome. BPD is similar but it is superficial. If a neurodevelopment disorder is diagnosed, a personality disorder diagnosis is usually dropped.
I hope my description helped clarify what Asperger's Syndrome is. Feel free to ask me any questions via this thread or private message. I am not judgemental.
Little Didgee,
a lady with Asperger's Syndrome.
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I quoted all this because I couldn't cope with two notepad files and switching back and forth to this reply window. So I copied the texts into the space above. If either of you have a problem with that, please let me know and it can be removed.
What a great response by Little Didgee, confirming for me that I am on this part of the spectrum. I guess it could be pretty helpful to BnB also.
The thing I'm unclear about in the original post, BnB, is it seems you think emotional issues would be more healable if you had a physical disorder, is that right? Because it seems to me a lot of people on the spectrum have to adjust their lives to accommodate the way they are because of the physical things, which cause emotional things. Some people seem to think we can just desensitize and normalize, but I have worked very hard for a long time with I would say spectacular success to learn and grow - and there are effects of physical things that don't budge. I can make the effort to handle emotions better, and I have, but I am still dealing with a stressor at that point, and there are limits.